Daily rates: keeping a price record that settles arguments
Growers ask what the rate was. Buyers claim it was lower. A recorded rate per lot, per day, ends a conversation that otherwise repeats every week.
Founder·28 August 2026·6 min read
Price is the only subject in a wholesale market that everyone discusses and nobody records systematically. Rates are shouted, remembered, quoted approximately on the phone, and then argued about at settlement.
It is an odd gap, because the price data is generated in bulk every single morning and thrown away by lunchtime.
Record rate at the lot, aggregate afterwards
The right unit is the lot, not the day. Once every lot carries its own rate, the daily high, low and average for each commodity come out automatically, and they are real rather than an impression.
That gives you a defensible answer to the most common question in the market: what did this actually sell for.
What the record settles
- Grower questions about whether their produce got a fair price.
- Buyer claims about what was agreed, when the invoice arrives.
- Internal disputes about which lots were sold below the day's range and why.
- Whether a particular commodity is worth the space it takes on your floor.
Use it to plan, not just to defend
A season of rate history tells you when a commodity peaks, how quickly it falls after a glut, and which growers consistently bring produce that achieves the top of the range.
Agents who share that back with growers, advising when to send and when to hold, become partners rather than intermediaries, and consignments follow.
Publish to the people who need it
A simple daily rate summary sent to your growers on WhatsApp costs nothing and is read by every one of them. It answers the calls you would otherwise take individually and it markets your business at the same time.
Keep it factual: commodity, grade, range, date. Anything more promotional gets ignored.
Where the data comes from
None of this is extra work if the rate is captured at the auction. Sabzi Mandi Software records daily rates alongside lots, arrivals and ledgers, so the price history is a byproduct of selling rather than a separate register somebody has to maintain.
Prices are the most valuable data your market produces and the easiest to lose. Capture them per lot, keep the history, and use it to settle arguments before they start and to advise the growers who feed your business.
Frequently asked questions
Why keep a rate history if prices change daily?
Precisely because they change. A recorded history lets you show a grower what their produce actually made against the market that day, spot seasonal patterns, and plan arrivals around them. Without it, every conversation about price is two people's memories competing.
Does publishing rates weaken the agent's position?
It strengthens it with growers, who choose an agent they trust, and it changes little with buyers, who already know the market. Agents who are transparent about rates tend to attract more consignments, which is the actual competitive advantage in this business.
What price data is worth keeping?
Rate per lot with commodity and grade, the day's high, low and average per commodity, quantity arrived and quantity sold. Those five things support settlement, planning and negotiation, and they come out of the auction record without extra work.